


It’s Only Fear That Runs Through My Veins

by HaleHole (SweetFanfics)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Breaking Up & Making Up, Happy Ending, M/M, Stiles Stilinski Finds Out About Werewolves, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1511921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/HaleHole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Feeling like Death is nipping at his heels, Derek thinks of all the things that he regrets in his admittedly short life and mostly? He regrets not telling Stiles the truth himself.<br/>--</p><p>AU where Stiles and Derek are dating until Stiles finds out Derek’s a werewolf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s Only Fear That Runs Through My Veins

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this gifset](http://hoechlder.tumblr.com/post/56343424381/sterek-hsau) by nida cause ahahahah.ha. You know what i’m like. I tried to go for angst but then whoop, turned it into a fixer-upper? Very casually messing with the events timeline cause whoop whoop I can~
> 
> Sort of spoilers for S03E08 ‘Visionary’

As he runs for his life, Derek’s mind is kind of all over the place, mimicking the pattern of his trail. He thinks of his Mom (she’s going to be so mad when she finds out that he’d sneaked out of the house past curfew), thinks of Peter (maybe if Peter had left him alone then he wouldn’t have climbed out his bedroom window and ran off into the woods), thinks of his family (of Cora’s toothy grin, Nana Hale’s sharp glances, Emmy’s baby talk, and Aidan’s complaints about college) and Stiles.  
  


Derek thinks a little too much about Stiles, like he’s been doing for the past month. And the month before that, when things had been good and sweet and  _right_ between them. But mostly he’s been thinking of their last two meetings, when everything had gone wrong, wrong wrong.   
  


Derek wishes that he could go back in time and change what has happened. That he’d never asked Stiles to come to the school after dark, that he’d changed his mind earlier, that Stiles had never found out the truth. That Stiles had never broken up with him.  
  


An arrow whistles past his ear, sinking into a tree with a heavy thunk that makes Derek’s heart pound. He pushes himself to run faster, jumping over rocks and rotten branches with half an ear listening to the men chasing him. Derek cringes when a subsonic whine pierces through the noise, making him stumble off track, pushing him deeper into the woods.  
  


Feeling like Death is nipping at his heels, Derek thinks of all the things that he regrets in his admittedly short life and mostly? Derek regrets that he tried to take the cowardly path, changed his mind half way and just barely managed to prevent Stiles from being turned. He regrets not telling Stiles the truth himself.   
  


Maybe if he had told Stiles about who he was, what he was, then maybe Stiles wouldn’t have walked away. Maybe Stiles wouldn’t have looked so betrayed. Maybe…  
  


With a loud ‘oof!’, Derek finds himself flat on the ground. He chokes on the dust that rises, hands and feet immediately working to push himself upright again without trying to see what caused him to trip. He winces as the cuts on his hands heal, fingers rubbing against the dried blood even as he stumbles away. The Hunters sound closer than ever before.   
  


Fear like he’s never known before curls through him, makes cold sweat drip down his spine. Is he going to die tonight? He wants to stop and ask why he’s being chased like a wild dog but it’s no secret that despite their ‘Code’, most Hunters just need an excuse to hunt them down. Derek crashes through a thicket, arms up to shield his face, rolling on the floor with a groan.  
  


At this point it feels like he’s been running forward. It’s similar to how Derek felt when he’d been racing down the hallways, tracing Stiles down and hoping, praying, pleading that he wasn’t too late. Turns out that at the time, Derek had been there just in time to see Stiles notice the alpha werewolf. Just in time to grab him by the hand and drag him away, yelling at Stiles to ‘Just run!’.  
  


Derek chokes, feeling like he’s going to start spitting out blood any second now because his throat is so dry, so damned dry that every cough feels like a knife slicing into vocal chords. Every inhale is agony, every exhale is torture.  
  


When he hears heavy footsteps running up to him from the front, Derek looks up and expects to find a crossbow or a gun aimed at him. Instead he see’s Stiles’ pale, worried face as he reaches out to grab Derek up to his feet and hisses, “Run, you idiot!”  
  


Had he the breath, Derek would have snipped that that’s  _exactly_ what he’s been doing for the past… well, it feels like hours at this point. But it’s taking everything he has in him to just keep on his feet so, Derek returns Stiles’ tight grip and follows him.   
  


With Stiles by his side, Derek is forced into running past the glowing blue devices, hissing, “Move it already! Dying is not the agenda tonight Derek! Or any other night until I’m like 90 or something!” He stumbles on a few rocks, pushes sharp branches out of his way, trudges through a cold stream, placing his trust in Stiles and where ever he’s being taken.  
  


Derek’s legs feel heavy and leaden by the time Stiles shoves him into a damp cave and begins to fuss over the vines covering the entrance. Slumping against the stone, Derek squints through the darkness. “What is this place?” He asks in a hoarse voice, wondering if he’s just imagining the sound of trickling water.  
  


"A cave." The ‘duh’ in Stiles’ tone makes Derek want to lean over and cuff him upside the head. It’s the same fond way that Stiles had teased him when Derek would mess up during any of their study dates. He can’t believe he’s missed the sound of Stiles’ voice so much. "I figure it’s a good enough place to hide."  
  


Stiles turns around finally, features barely visible in the dark cave but it’s easy enough to tell that he’s looking at Derek. “Are you hurt?”  
  


Derek shakes his head, fingers rubbing over his palms once more in memory of his wounds and scrubs away the last of the dried blood. “I’m alright. Just thirsty.” He tries to wet his chapped lips with his tongue but it’s like rubbing sandpaper against a wall.   
  


The soft melody of trickling water flowing somewhere deeper in the cave makes Derek lean his body towards the dark. He can almost taste the sweet cool water as he listens to it dance over the stone. It will be cool and just a bit sweet and like a balm to his throat and lips. “There’s actually this little stream here…” Stiles begins, taking a few steps forward to take hold of Derek’s elbow. “C’mon, I’ll take you there. Count six steps with me.”  
  


Stumbling in the dark, Derek tries to match Stiles’ steps but winds up miscalculating and for the second time tonight, he winds up with his feet in cold water. Stiles pulls him back, chuckling slightly under his breath as Derek falls to his knees and cups the water in his hands before guzzling it down. “Easy there.” He jokes, kneeling down next to Derek. “I think you drink that any faster you’ll drown yourself.”  
  


Derek ignores the jib in favor of taking a few more deep drinks that leave him feeling like he’s a full waterskin. He feels calmer, better now that he’s not being chased and that his thirst has been dealt with. So he glances over at Stiles, who is scrubbing his hands in the water. “What were you doing out there Stiles?” Derek asks, curiosity and worry mingling together in his question.   
  


"I was out for a walk." The glib answer makes Derek frown, hand reaching out to stop Stiles from washing his hands. He’s relieved, so completely relieved when Stiles doesn’t pull away. He huffs and sits down with a tiny ‘whumph’, bony knees knocking against Derek’s thighs.   
  


Sliding his fingers against the Stiles’ wet skin, Derek moves to sit down so that he’s facing his ex-boyfriend without letting go of his hand. He’s just sat down where Stiles begins in a low voice, “I wanted to talk to you. About…everything. So I drove to your house. I just sat in my Jeep for… Anyways. I saw you sneak out and followed you. But I lost you half way there and kinda overheard those other guys talking about hunting you so I…”  
  


Stiles’ fingers slide around his wrist and squeeze. It’s hard enough for Derek to feel it and wonder if the grip might leave a mark. “How’d you find me?” Derek asks in a hushed tone, unable to believe his luck. Or Stiles’ luck for that matter. “If you’d lost me, then how did you know where I was?”  
  


"I overheard the guys talking about…  _herding_ you towards the edge of the Preserve so I just, took a shortcut.” The way he says it is so matter of fact. Like Stiles is used to eavesdropping on hunters and then running away to help the werewolf they’ve been chasing. “I just got lucky.”  
  


Derek grabs Stiles’ hands with both of his, squeezing them tight to show his gratitude. “Thank you.” He breathes out in the dark, grateful for the inky black coating them because Stiles won’t be able to catch the heat that’s rising up his neck. “You saved my life.”  
  


Stiles’ knee nudges against his leg. “Well. You saved mine so. I’d call it even.”   
  


Shaking his head slightly, Derek lowers his head and presses their joined hands against the damp skin. The adrenaline from before still hasn’t gone away. It makes Derek tremble and shake as he tries not to  _break down_ in sheer relief. He’s okay, he’s going to make it. And it’s thanks to Stiles. Stiles who he didn’t think he’d see again. Stiles who had come out to-  
  


Sharply raising his head, Derek stares at Stiles and asks, “You drove out to my house? To talk to me?” His voice is high with happy disbelief, heart beat kicking into high gear with hope that maybe….  
  


Stiles grumbles and pulls his hands away but his knee is still digging into Derek’s thigh. “I had a lot of questions about werewolves and stuff and I don’t know any other werewolves besides you…” Oh. Derek feels his heart sink into his feet, shoulders slumping down as well. So it wasn’t… Stiles didn’t want…  
  


"And I really hated the way we broke it off." Stiles’ quiet admission doesn’t make Derek raise his head. "I… I know that I might have over reacted but lets be real. Finding out that  _werewolves_ are real is a good reason to flip out. And almost getting killed by one is just…” Derek wants to shrink and hide between two stones at the heavy sigh Stiles lets out. “I still don’t forgive you for what you tried to do but… you  _did_ stop that guy from killing me.” __  
  
  


"Turning you." Derek corrects meekly. "I never wanted… I just…"  
  


"The point’s still the same." Stiles cuts in sharply. "You basically let me into a trap. You were gonna…" The quick inhale Stiles takes in makes Derek duck his head, face red with shame.  
  


Seconds tick by. Derek listens to the water, listens to Stiles trying to get his breathing and heartbeat back to it’s normal calm until finally he begins again. “I don’t even know what you were _thinking_  when you sent me that note and right now I really don’t want to know. I mean! What the  _hell_ were you thinking?!” Stiles’ asks angrily, “You wanted someone to turn me into a  **werewolf**  without  _asking me_?! Do I even need to  _explain_ how that’s  _so **wrong**_?”  
  


Feeling lower than dirt, Derek wants to just… he wants to crawl into a hole and stay there until the end of time. When Stiles pulls away from him, Derek wants to cry. More so when Stiles continues in a hurt tone, “Was I… Was I not good enough for you? That you wanted me to be a werewolf instead of hum”  
  


"No!" Derek yells immediately, shuffling forward so that he’s right in front of Stiles and peering at him beseechingly. "That’s not it! It was  _never_ that! I like you just the way you are!”  
  


Something makes the greenery hiding the entrance shift, possibly the wind. It lights the cave up in a soft glow, allowing Derek a clear view of Stiles’ confused face. “Then why the hell would you…”  
  


Derek hangs his head miserably, the words feeling heavy and childish before they even leave his mouth. “Because I didn’t want to lose you.” The sharp inhale that comes from in front of him makes Derek press his lips together and look away into the depths of the cave.  
  


He’s ready to hear a lot of things for the admission - he’s an idiot, he’s selfish, he’s being far too possessive. Derek’s quickly trying to brace himself for a world of hurt that’s sure to come from Stiles’ next question.   
  


"What do you mean ‘lose me’?" Stiles asks cautiously. It’s unexpected and throws Derek for a complete loop because he can’t catch even the smallest trace of anger in his voice. "Did you… did you think I was going to break up with you if I found out?" The whack he gets on his shoulder makes Derek yelp in surprise rather than pain and give Stiles a wounded look.  
  


_Now_ Stiles looks indignant as he glares at Derek. “I’ve known something was up with you for a while, you  _idiot!_  Did you  _seriously_ not trust me enough?” Derek’s ready to argue back when Stiles’ eyes suddenly go wide. “Or… were you worried that you’d out live me? Are werewolves immortal?”  
  


Blinking in confusion, Derek can only stare as Stiles begins to babble. “ _Please_ don’t tell me that werewolves are immortal! Of all things that Twilight has to be right about, don’t let it be that! I’ve already read  _a lot_ of shit about werewolves and I don’t want them being immortal to be true because that’s just  _freaky_ okay? And  _knotting_! I draw the line at that!  _Please_ tell me that knotting isn’t actually a thing!”  
  


He can’t stop himself from facepalming and laughing at the actually worried look that Stiles is directing him. This, this just  _so_ Stiles.  _Of course_  he’d have gone online and looked up everything he could about werewolves. Derek really should have anticipated this. He can’t help but laugh harder as he imagines all the things that Stiles must have found during his search. It makes his grab his stomach and bend over in half, laughing so much, so hard that breathing becomes an issue.  
  


"This is  _not_ funny!” Stiles hisses, giving Derek a hard shove that leaves him a laughing mess on the floor. “It’s a legitimate concern! How do werewolves age? What’s the truth about knotting? Do you guys really have mates? Can you tell who they are from the get go? Do you really have pack hunts on full moons?”   
  


Wiping away the wetness from his eyes, Derek sits back up and wheezes out, “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”  
  


He feels a flood of warmth rush through him when their eyes meet and Stiles looks away, heart palpitating. “That and other things…” Derek chuckles into his fist, laughing harder when Stiles gives him another shove only this time it’s more playful than before.  
  


Feeling better than he has in  _weeks_ , Derek smiles at Stiles. “I missed you.” He says fondly. Stiles’ eyes lock onto his and Derek gets to see ‘his’ smile pulling the other boy’s lips up before he ducks his head to hide it.   
  


It gives Derek the courage to sit down next to Stiles, wet stone against his back and a warm body against his side. “I’m still mad at you.” Stiles says right off the bat, hand pressing down on top of Derek’s. “And I want a proper explanation for what you were thinking. And a promise that you’re not going to make any decisions for me okay?”  
  


Derek nods, turning his hand around so that he can link his fingers through Stiles. “Good.” Stiles declares, leaning over to press their shoulders together. “Now start explaining your  _terrible_ decisions to me. After that we're gonna talk about consent and boundaries.”


End file.
